AD&D Productions

CUE: The year 2008 has seen the beginnings of what has been termed a “Global Food Crisis”. The price for a ton of rice in Thailand, for example, has almost tripled in the last year alone. The United Nations has been spearheading efforts to search for a solution to this epidemic. One of their key efforts has been to nominate one of the world’s most popular foods as a solution.

CUE: This August, all eyes in the world turn to the city of Beijing and the excitement of the twenty ninth Summer Olympics. Spectators will be able watch athletes from around the world compete in such perennial summer games as swimming, archery, boxing and even table tennis. Yes, table tennis, or “Ping Pong” as it is known in China, has been an official Olympic sport since 1988. And with the game of “Ping Pong” being such an integral part of Chinese culture, this year’s competition promises to be one of the most exciting in years.

CUE: The Sixty First Annual Cannes Film Festival opened this month along the sunny beaches of the French Rivera. Although in recent years the premieres of Hollywood blockbusters have been capturing the attention of the media, the Festival still remains committed to the small scale. Robb Ellender is a London based filmmaker who’s film was selected for the Cinefondation program of this year’s festival. We caught up with him at a busy sidewalk café while he was preparing for this year’s festival.

CUE: In May, Britain’s Ministry of Defense (MOD) has began it’s first release of top secret “UFO” files. The files, some of them dating back to 1967, contain reports of strange lights, mysterious aircraft and other phenomenon that have been reported to the MOD. This follows shortly on the French government’s similar action in March. The MOD says it wants to be more transparent, but some UFO researchers say that the release is just a smokescreen.